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Essay about The Views and Lifestyles of Slaves During Slavery

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The Views and Lifestyles of Slaves During Slavery Throughout the history of world there have been many documented cases of oppression and violence that one country or one race has forces upon another. Although the notion of slavery is thought to be gone from today's world, there are still numerous countries that force individuals to work against their will for little or no rewards. A massive area to studying and view slavery took place in the United States from the early seventieth century up to the American civil war, which ended slavery, in the middle nineteenth century. The driving force …show more content…

To a further extent the material provided not only a slave's view but both pieces of material were from a woman's perspective. The following critique will deal with the two pieces of literature and examine the content of both.

The work by Jacobs details the life a young black girl who in the early stages of her life, although being a slave, was not subjected to the cruel treatment from her owner as so many other slaves would be. Her compassion for her owner is a rarity, as for most slaves the relationship with their master's is one of complete obedience while harboring anger within them. The following illustrates the feelings that Linda, the young slave girl, had for her mistress "As I saw the cheek grow paler, and the eye more glassy, how earnestly I prayed that she might live! I loved her; for she had been like a mother to me."[1] Linda's life would change dramatically after the death of her mistress; her life now would no longer be as joyful and happy as she was to be traded to another slave owner.

For Burton who is writing about herself, named Annie in the narrative, her childhood is placed in a time of change as it is during the civil war. Burton's description of her surroundings, to a certain extent, seems to be of confusion with both black and white races having difficulty coming to grips with the

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